


trust

by whatifitrainedtoday



Category: The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: (it's not central to the story but it's important to me), Gen, Juno Steel Needs a Hug, M/M, Past Abuse, Rita & Juno Steel are Best Friends, Rita Appreciation (Penumbra Podcast), Rita is a Good Friend (Penumbra Podcast), Trans Peter Nureyev
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:53:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26653987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whatifitrainedtoday/pseuds/whatifitrainedtoday
Summary: rita keeps an eye on juno.also featuring origami animals, terrible tv, and a gift shop dressing gown.
Relationships: Peter Nureyev & Rita, Peter Nureyev/Juno Steel, Rita & Juno Steel
Comments: 8
Kudos: 115





	trust

Rita has always kept an eye on Juno. This is mainly because Juno cannot take care of himself in the slightest, but partly also because Juno’s life is sometimes so dramatic that if it were on a stream she was watching she’d struggle to suspend her disbelief. Mostly, though, she keeps an eye on Juno because Juno is her best friend (Frannie is a friend, true, but that line is blurred with Frannie after a few too many “dates” which became actual dates, so Juno is her closest friend that she’s not slept with), and she loves him. So when Rita figures out that Juno is going out with Rex-Duke-Perseus-Peter-Lance-Arum-Pheonix (she’s looked him up and there were far more names than that, so she’s decided to stick with Peter because that’s what Buddy calls him and she trusts Buddy), she decides to keep an eye on Peter too. 

Juno’s past lovers have left room for improvement, Rita thinks. They’ve been rough, or cruel, or neglectful, and Juno’s just put up with it. No, not quite put up with it - Juno has fought, because that is what Juno is good at, but Juno has also just accepted his place as one to be dismissed and mistreated. Rita has never stepped in, however. She’s cleaned up the vomit, the blood, and the damp tissues, and she’s taken Juno out for drinks and dinner and movies on the bad days and she may have secretly blocked some numbers on his comms, but she’s never actually made the effort to stop him. She knows that Juno can’t be stopped once he’s on a path, the lady is stubborn, but so is Rita, so there’s an odd middle ground where they both know what’s wrong but neither can stop the other. Neither of them is happy with this arrangement, but when Juno comes into work with a black eye and a foul mood, Rita is there to hand him an ice pack and leave postit notes with smiley faces on in his desk drawers. 

Things have changed now, though, and they’re in space with the man Juno kept disappearing with. Rita isn’t stupid, she knows this is the same man who keeps coming back into Juno’s life with different fancy clothes and different names and different piercings. One time he left her flowers. She doesn’t know what to think about this, because Diamond left her flowers, just once, and that day Juno came in with a broken nose. 

Rita has decided to stick close to Peter. She invites him to watch streams with her, and she helps him do the washing up after breakfast (neither of them are trusted to cook), and she internally keeps track of where he and Juno are on the ship. She thinks the two of them have an understanding - they circle each other, almost, and she catches him watching her more than once. She’s pretty sure he’s okay, really - he’s a little cagey and secretive, but that’s fairly normal for the people on this ship, and she can’t hold it against him. More than that, he’s kind to Juno, and seems almost more in love with Juno than Juno is with him. The two of them are frequently found entwined in some comfortable corner of the ship, Juno playing with Peter’s rings while Peter strokes the lady’s hair, and it would be sickening to watch if it didn’t make Rita’s heart beat just a little easier. Juno brings Peter coffee, and Peter folds origami animals for Juno out of receipts and scrap paper, and the two of them seem to orbit one another contentedly.

Rita still doesn’t quite trust him, though. 

One night, Rita has a bad feeling about Juno. He’s staring off into space a lot, he’s more snarky than usual, and he’s only picking at his dinner - the only other thing on the “Juno’s bad day” checklist is alcohol, which he can’t have on the ship. Once Juno has slipped off to bed, and Peter soon after him, Rita rejects Jet’s offer of a movie night and heads down the corridor to see how he is. 

Outside Juno’s door, Rita hesitates, something she’s never really been known to do. There are noises coming from behind the door, and she really doesn’t want to walk in on the boss having sex again because the last few times were awkward, but she can hear - oh. She can hear Juno crying. Is Peter hurting him? Is he actually alone in there and just crying by himself? Is Peter hurting him, like any of his past dates? Rita makes up her mind, and slams the door open.

“Mista Steel, I’m sorry to intrude but you know you sometimes don’t make decisions all that well when you’re like this, and I thought I heard you crying and I was gonna ask if -” she stops herself mid-sentence, because no, Juno wasn’t alone, and no, Peter wasn’t hurting him (she thinks), and no, she hasn’t walked in on them having sex, but somehow this is more intimate. Juno and Peter are sat opposite one another in bed, hands interlocked. Peter is shirtless, and Juno is only wearing his flimsy dressing gown which he picked up in some spaceport gift shop. Rita scans the scene for any signs of injury on either of them and only finds old ones, the twin lines on Peter’s chest and the fading lightning scars on his shoulders, and the network of faded scratches and slashes on Juno’s face. Peter has a box of tissues in his lap, and Juno was clearly in the middle of wiping tears from his good eye when Rita had entered.

Peter blinks at Rita. “Rita, dear, is there a problem?” 

There is a long silence.

“I just… Boss, I worry about you so much, you do these things and you trust people and they hurt you, and last time you went off with Peter Ransom Rose Glass whatever, you were missing an eye and you didn’t get out of bed for nearly a week, and I was so worried, and then you went missing in the desert again, and now you’re with this guy and he seems nice but can I really be sure, and I thought you didn’t seem well today and I wanted to come and help and then I heard you crying and I didn’t know if you were okay, and -” Rita is cut off yet again, because the unthinkable is happening - Juno Steel, mistress of distance and sarcasm, is initiating a hug with her, having climbed off the bed to envelope her in his slightly sweaty arms. 

“Rita, I’m okay. Really. I know you’ve had to look after me for a long time, and I’m sorry, because it’s my fault that you felt like I was your responsibility when I should have been taking care of myself. I’m doing better now, I was just having a bit of a bad day. Peter was looking after me. It’s okay.”

Rita is crying, and Juno is crying again, and the two of them are holding each other, only stopping when Juno bursts out laughing at the look of complete confusion on Peter’s face. “Honey, she’s come to tell you off, I think.”

Rita laughs. “Well, I did actually have something I wanted to say to you, Mister Peter, because I do think you’re good for Juno, be quiet Juno, because he smiles around you and wears his nice dresses more often and doesn’t look scared when you talk loud, so I think you’re okay. But I do know you’ve been lying, Mister Nureyev, and I want you to know this so that you know that I can tell when you’re lying.”

Peter flinches noticeably when Rita says his name, and Rita makes a mental note not to do that again. 

“Nureyev, I told you she’d know. Rita’s okay, it’s fine. Rita, it’s okay. I love you, and I’m actually taking care of myself for once, so I know that you love me too. It’s okay. I was just having one of those days.”

There’s an interesting look in Peter’s eyes. Rita can tell that the two of them might have to have a slightly longer conversation later, but she’s happy for that to wait. Right now, she has a better plan. “Boss, have you got your boyfriend - he is your boyfriend, you don’t have any more news for me on that front because really you both wear so many rings and I’m not sure I’d notice if you - okay, no fair enough - have you got your boyfriend to watch Their Lives On Europa yet? There’s a new season, and I remember it’s one of the ones I could always get you to watch with me, and I was wondering if you would both like to watch it? With me, I mean? That is if you weren’t about to do something else, that’s not something I want to interrupt.”

Juno raises his eyebrows, and Peter smiles in response. “Yes, Rita, I would be honoured to watch this with you. Juno hasn’t deigned to share this particular piece of cultural information with me yet, and I’d be thrilled to see what it’s like.” He pulls on the shirt that Rita now sees was discarded behind him, and she notes with a smile that it’s from the same trashy gift shop as Juno’s dressing gown. Hopeless, both of them. Rita fiddles with the screen on the wall and pulls out her comms, typing quickly. 

“Technically this one’s only out on Neptune so far, and we’re not really anywhere near there right now, but if you give me a second…” Brightly coloured opening credits appear on the screen, and Rita squeaks with excitement, pulling Juno onto the bed to sit between her and Peter. 

“Is this set before or after what happened with his wife?”

“Which wife, boss, you need to be more specific.”

“The blonde one.”

“Oh, after.”

Juno nods and leans his head on Peter, but takes Rita’s hand, and she grins, cuddling into his side. Tomorrow, or maybe the day after, she does want to know more about Peter. For now, though, she thinks she can trust him, and more importantly, trust Juno. For now, she’s just going to watch some terrible TV, and she’s going to make sure her best friend has a good evening.

**Author's Note:**

> i know there's been so many fics of rita telling peter to behave but also consider this. i love her. they are best friends.


End file.
